AIWA 10

Chapter 10

Paello leaped between the Blue Orc and Jod. A red aura rose from his sword.

In truth, Jod had not even sensed the danger that Paello had noticed.

He simply obeyed Paello’s urgent command on instinct.

Paello’s command did not mean to dodge and then resume fighting.

It meant to withdraw from the battle completely, by any means necessary. So Jod threw himself to the side with all his strength.

A sharp aura soon flared from the Blue Orc’s club.

Thud!

Paello’s sword collided with the Blue Orc’s club.

A powerful shockwave erupted from the collision of the two auras, blasting toward the opposite side of the campfire and mercilessly snapping the thick trees.

CRACK! CRUNCH! BOOM!

Leaves torn from the trees became violently mixed with clouds of dirt, obscuring Jod’s vision.

All he could see in the darkness were auras flaring and clashing against each other.

Although demons were far stronger than humans, aura users were extremely rare. Even seeing it with his own eyes, Jod could hardly believe what was happening.

But he soon understood the situation properly.

That Blue Orc was a commander-level demon.

Jod considered himself a Swordmaster, but the sheer power before him was something only a top-tier Swordmaster like Paello could handle.

There was no way Jod could stand against it.

Soon, the leaves and dust settled.

The sight of Paello and the Blue Orc crossing weapons became clearer.

The Blue Orc’s club, which should have been sliced apart the moment it came into contact with Paello’s sword, was completely intact.

At the same time, a chill ran down Jod’s entire body.

He had nearly died instantly.

His ingrained habit of obeying his superior had saved his life.

‘W-why is someone like that here?’

With power like that, the demon hadn’t failed to return to the Demon Kingdom.

It had chosen not to return.

“Sir Jod! Don’t just stand there! Rescue the captive!”

Paello’s command snapped Jod back to his senses.

“Yes! Yes, sir!”

Jod approached the campfire and checked the condition of the fallen man.

Very short, dark brown hair and thick eyebrows.

It was undoubtedly Ryan, the young man the distraught woman had been searching for.

He wasn’t tied up, but his clothes were little more than rags. His face and body were covered in severe bruises, and his badly split lips were crusted with dried blood.

‘Looks like that Blue Orc was playing around with him.’

Fortunately, nothing seemed to be broken. His breathing was steady as well.

Jod picked Ryan up and carried him farther away.

He needed to get as far from the battle as possible so he wouldn’t get in the way.

After putting Ryan down in a suitable place, Jod raised his head.

His heart nearly stopped.

“Oh, you found Ryan?”

Lucienne was standing in front of him.

“G-Grand Duchess?”

“Yep. I came too.”

Lucienne smiled brightly.

How had she gotten here? Why had she come?

Countless questions stormed through Jod’s mind.

But he couldn’t voice any of them, nor could he return her cheerful greeting with a smile.

The sight of his lord fighting a demon, combined with the scenery visible behind Lucienne, made the hairs on his body stand on end.

His first feeling toward Lucienne was resentment.

‘His Highness specifically told her to stay at the estate. Why on earth did she come here?’

A warrior’s greatest weakness in battle was none other than family.

And that weakness had just appeared right in front of the enemy, practically presenting itself to them.

Jod hurriedly tightened his grip on his sword and assumed a fighting stance.

“G-Grand Duchess. I-I’ll handle this. Please don’t look back. R-run this way, quickly.”

“Hm?”

Despite his warning, Lucienne opened her eyes wide like a rabbit and turned around.

Jod felt like he was going insane.

‘Roksinna, don’t remarry. Mother, please stay healthy.’

It was already difficult enough to fight, and now he had to protect her while doing so.

Today was probably going to be the day he got his portrait painted for his funeral.

Jod gritted his teeth and kicked off the ground.

He positioned himself between Lucienne and the enormous beast whose eyes were shining fiercely, then pointed his sword at it.

“Grrrrr.”

The black wolf lowered its body and bared its sharp teeth.

“Grand Duchess! The situation here is dangerous! I’ll deal with that beast, so please return to the estate and call for reinforcements!”

‘Grand Duchess?’

Jod’s shout contained information that completely caught Paello off guard.

As Paello briefly turned his attention away to assess the surrounding situation, the Blue Orc also noticed Lucienne.

Both of them saw Lucienne, but their reactions were completely different.

“Wife?”

Paello could hardly believe his eyes.

Taking advantage of the opening, the Blue Orc swung its club.

Caught off guard, Paello hurriedly dodged the attack and rolled to the side.

A gap had opened in the battle.

If he took the woman hostage, the fight would be over.

The quick-witted Blue Orc began moving its heavy steps rapidly toward Lucienne.

[Heh heh heh! His weakness came walking right to me on her own! What bad luck for him.]

“Hm? What did you say?”

Lucienne narrowed one eye, baffled by the Blue Orc’s words.

[Who says who is whose weakness?]

The Blue Orc hesitated at Lucienne’s response, and its fighting spirit weakened.

At the same time, Paello remembered that Lucienne was a demon hybrid.

Paello stopped moving and carefully observed the situation.

Lucienne sighed.

She had come here intending to make the situation so frustrating for Paello that the word “divorce” would rise all the way to his throat.

But she hadn’t expected the situation to be this fierce, nor had she expected a demon to openly call her Paello’s weakness.

And she certainly hadn’t expected that mutt-like wolf to follow her.

[Wait a moment.]

Lucienne spoke to the demon before looking at the wolf.

First of all, she had to stop Sir Jod from hurting the wolf.

What Lucienne wanted was a divorce, not a bloody incident that was completely outside her plans.

“Sir Jod, that mutt is harmless, so put your sword down.”

“What? A-a mutt?”

“Yep.”

Lucienne deliberately walked over to the wolf and repeatedly patted its head.

The wolf immediately lowered its body, stretched its mouth into a broad smile, and thumped its tail happily.

“See? He’s harmless. I think he followed me because I played with him a little after we met earlier.”

[Th-the bread is wagging its tail at you?]

“Your name is Sikppang?”

At Lucienne’s question, the wolf barked once as though answering her.

“Woof!”

[And this wolf is your owner?]

The wolf got up and ran toward the Blue Orc.

The Blue Orc patted the wolf’s head as it wagged its tail.

[He is not my owner. Sikppang is a friend I met after coming here. He has followed me ever since we made eye contact. This one is very perceptive.]

Remembering the wolf’s behavior, Lucienne let out a little laugh.

“Sikppang, are you the type who acts tough toward the weak but weak toward the strong?”

“G-Grand Duchess. You named the wolf Sikppang?”

“That’s what he says.”

[By the way, you speak the demon language quite well. You’re the first human I’ve met here who can communicate with me. I heard humans cannot speak the demon language.]

Lucienne crossed her arms and shrugged.

She knew that the Lucienne whose body she had possessed was a demon hybrid who could speak both languages, but even Lucienne herself hadn’t expected communication to be this easy.

[To be precise, my native language is the language of the Demon Kingdom, and the foreign language is the language of the Holy Empire, so—]

[A-a demon? But how can you speak the language of the Empire’s humans?]

[Because I’m a hybrid.]

[No way.]

The Blue Orc took a step back.

[Come to think of it, I’ve heard about you. Are you the daughter of Pietro who married the demon-slayer of the Holy Empire?]

Its speech immediately changed from casual to respectful.

[You know me well.]

The Blue Orc lowered its weapon.

Then it raised its middle finger toward Lucienne.

[It is an honor to meet you.]

In the language of the people of the Holy Empire, raising one’s middle finger was called “flipping someone off.”

It was an extremely offensive insult that could mean “fuck off,” “shut up,” “stop,” and many other things.

Paello’s brows narrowed at the gesture, while Jod tightened his grip on his sword and ground his teeth.

“How dare that bastard!”

Lucienne was equally dumbfounded.

It was one thing to speak politely, but to do so while giving her the middle finger?

‘So that’s how you play? Fine. I’m not losing.’

She vigorously raised her middle finger at the Blue Orc as well.

[Yeah, nice to meet you too.]

Returning the gesture once wasn’t enough, so she raised her other hand and showed him another one.

The Blue Orc flinched.

Paello approached Lucienne and spoke in a low voice.

“Wife, he may be one of your kind, but he’s dangerous. I understand that you’re offended, but provoking him isn’t wise.”

“What? Then you expect me to just take it?”